The Dublin Community Blog

A brief thought on this Good Friday for all here. I listened fairly intently this morning to the president in the UK talking about how we should be appreciating the sacrifice made by the heroes of 1916 as, and I’m paraphrasing here, without it we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the fruits of the Celtic Tiger.

Am I the only one who sees the irony of removing England as a colonial power 90 years ago, asserting our independence as a nation and then spending today (as many will), spending all their money in stores owned by UK/US/European corporations?

Not that I’m a “burn the Marks & Spencers” hardcore financionationalist (wow, a word that David McWilliams didn’t invent!) – far from it, I bought a Starbucks coffee here in the radio centre this morning and got a shirt yesterday in Next. It’s just that I’ve seen a couple of local shops near where I live go belly up in the last 12 months in the face of competition from large international chains.

I’ll always try to shop locally where possible be it (as Karen has suggested below) in the Temple Bar Market or the local butcher or pharmacist or coffee shop. After all, if we don’t, they close, choice becomes smaller and smaller and that’s never a good thing for anyone. So maybe if you really want to celebrate the spirit of 1916 today get to know your local grocer, butcher, cinema owner or whatever because come the next downturn (what will we call that anyway…. the Celtic Mouse? And that one’s copyright too McWilliams!!!) they’ll still be here when the big corporations have headed elsewhere in search of the bigger bottom line…

R

Seriously though. This morning had a wonderful breakfast in the Elephant And Castle in Temple Bar as I do about once a month (their California Sunrise breakfast is to die for, literally! Hash browns, french toast with syrup, bacon and poached eggs with coffee and juice) and sloped out with my wife and little guy who’s on Easter holidays back to the car in the Temple Bar car park. Cost for less than one hour’s parking in the city?

€3

I kid you not. I know that it’s always had a reputation as being the dearest car park in Dublin but (and correct me gentle reader if I’m wrong) but this is the first time I’ve seen anywhere in town breach €3… Our country cousins laugh at us – I’ve been in Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterfordd and parked my car for 2 hours for that.

Not that I’m the world’s greatest fan of the Dundrum Centre but cost of parking there? €2 for 3 hours… And they wonder why they can’t keep people in the city to shop?

R

Daragh, I’m sorry… Although to be fair the current crop of community bloggers seem to be churning out posts at a fair rate!

My thought for tonight is this. I don’t head into town at the weekend that often; usually it’s locally, have people over or…. well, given that I’m a parent of 2, more often than not it’s stay in with a video, a week’s worth of Sky+ stuff and a takeaway. Ventured in to the city a couple of weeks ago for what turned out to be a great evening. Meal with friends, pints after, all ending at about 2.30 to 3-ish on the cold and crowded streets around City Hall.

Then I remembered why I hate coming into town at the weekend so much. You see the Nitelink doesn’t go anywhere near staggering distance of where I live so taxi it must be. Every time you presume “sure how long could it possibly take for me to flag one down? I know just the spot….” Or at least I used to know just the spot…

Am I the only one who has noticed Dublin’s resemblance on a Saturday night/Sunday morning to a city being invaded in a Roland Emmerich movie? Everywhere I went there were streams of people walking out of the city in all directions, arms desperately flailing like windmills in a vain attempt to hail any one of the dozens of (strangely empty) taxis heading back into town.

And then an old experience came back to me. A couple of years ago, same time of the night, same “spending an hour wandering up Dame Street, over Christchurch, back down the quays with hundreds of taxis whizzing by” kind of vibe when a bolt of inspiration hit me. I parked us on the path outside the Morrison Hotel. Time taken before a cab stopped? 25 seconds.

And they wonder why ordinary folk sometimes resent them….?

R

Hi all! “Dublin Community Blog”… I like the egalitarian vibe that brings to the whole enterprise

Thought I might address one “Mea Culpa” as a first foray here. Firstly I’d like to apologise for radio ads. Yes, I work there, no I don’t write them but I have, to my shame, taken part in them in the past. The ones I’m referring to are quite specific – the “overheard” conversation between two gimps who are blathering on in a way no real members of the species ever do about something so vastly unimportant you want to punch them in the mouth.

“Yes, Anne-Marie – Johnny’s Carpets are having a remnant sale this weekend!”

“Isn’t their number 5643393?”

“Why yes, yes it is Jacinta!”

The episode of The Simpsons where the ad agency guy who claims he invented them gets punched in the face is one of the greats… Not responsible for the success of Shayne Ward or Chico either…

R